New to the area

[racingdream2001]

Hello all

 

I am semi-new to the area, a transfer from Chicagoland.. I've been involved in some form of racing since an early age, from a spectator to a competitor to a crew chief... I have been mainly a crew chief for a friend of mine and his Mid-American stock car up at Grundy County Speedway in Illinois for a number of years prior to moving to the great state of Texas.

 

I have been involved with straight-line racing with a number of my personal cars over the years, and have had fun on a number of road courses’ up there, ran some SCCA Solo Events too. I have always had a personal passion of running my own late model asphalt circle car... I spent some serious time tuning the Mid-American car for my buddy over the years... was behind the wheel a number of times just for tuning purposes. The driver and I did have a fun competition though one time on who could run the fastest qualifying time during a test session... He had years behind the wheel from karts to super stock then to the mid-am series, I had 6 laps in his car up to that point.... A long and fun story in short form I beat him by .17 seconds.... I have never been able to financial support a racing deal to where I could own my own car, parts, trailer and all the expense behind racing till I took my new job in Texas. This past Feb., I found an excellent car up in Tennessee that was built for Justin Ashburn, an ARCA & Bush Series driver, it was built for the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series, I picked the car up and brought it home with the intention of getting the car track ready by July-Aug... Unfortunately, the car still sits as it was when I brought it home... for a number of reasons.... I have a huge passion for racing, I wish it was my full-time job - them lucky NASCAR drivers, I would give a number of things up to run a touring series...

 

But it's getting to a point I need to get the ball rolling if I want to get the car and my initial game plan rolling to be able to compete next season at HMP....

 

So my main question or questions since you now have an idea of how serious I really am on pulling this together, who do I need to work with in getting my car inspected and qualified for running at HMP?... I am sure there is some minor modifications that would need to be made since the car was built for the former Dodge weekly series.

 

Also sponsorship would be important to the success of what I am trying to accomplish in racing, does there seem to be known companies or organizations in the Houston area who seem to be frequent backers of the racing family in Houston??

 

Also any information about getting things started down here that you feel might be important for me to know of, I would greatly appreciate it...

 

Well I hope to see and meet some new competitors and friends very soon at HMP... for now you all enjoy the fun and I can't wait to be a part of it all...

 

I hope to be making frequent trips soon on Saturday night to watch all the action at HMP...

[Whitey741]

Hey RD01,

 

Welcome to Texas!

 

First, here is a link to the rules. ASA PLM RULES 08

 

 

I write with limited knowledge based on my observations, so someone please correct me if I am wrong. I am not sure if the weekly series rules are set by NASCAR or if they vary by track.

 

I know the NASCAR Dodge weekly series class that ran at SAS was a “late model stock car” class, which were similar to TSRS cars. Example; 105” or 108” wheelbase , OEM frame, stock clip geometry & steering weight around 3000 There are allowances for coil-overs, tube clips and some chassis variations with weight penalties.

 

The majority of cars that run at HMP are more the ASA or Super Late Model type with the crate engines. Example: Minnimum 101” wheelbase tubular chassis offset or perimeter, coil over, rack and pinion. Weight +/- 2600lbs. With a couple engine variations that can cost you a few pounds.

 

On the “questionable” things call and talk to Graham Baker. He is the owner at HMP and often answers the phone there. He would get you in contact with the tech guy that would be able to answer your technical questions.

 

 

HMP 281-458-1972

Also from my experience, generally speaking, the racers/crews at HMP are great guys and easy to get along with and usually willing to help at the drop of a hat.. Next race is September 6. Come out, look around, visit, ask questions and I’m sure you’ll get all the info you need….. and a little you could probably do with out. You will enjoy your time there, racing or not.